Hamas TV Issues Video Response to Temple Video

Hamas TV and another anti-Israel group make their own versions of the successful Temple Institute video.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 7/29/2012, 6:23 PM

Hamas Television and another Arab anti-Israel group have created video responses to the successful "The Children are Ready" video released by the Temple Institute in Jerusalem for Tisha B'Av.

The Arab versions also show children surprising their father with a sand structure they created on the beach. In Hamas's version, the structure is in the shape of the state of Israel – which they claim is "Palestine."

In the second video, which appears to be a private initiative by one M. Saber Alian, the children build the Dome of the Rock.

Both Muslim versions also respond to what they perceive as an intended slight of Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi. Morsi's photo appears on the newspaper that the father drops to the sand when he sees the Temple the children built, in the Temple Institute video.

In the Hamas version, the Israeli flag drops to the ground with the newspaper, and Morsi's face proudly adorns the map of "Palestine." In the other video response, the newspaper describes Morsi's victory and remains on the father's beach table. The father writes the Muslim call "la illaha ila Allah" on a note, which later adorns the "Dome of the Rock."

The Temple Institute made clear on Thursday that there was no intention to refer to Morsi: "The issues that have been raised concerning the image on the newspaper in the movie are baseless," it said. "This is totally irrelevant to the message of the movie and the image is purely coincidental."

Rabbi Chaim Richmanת International Director of the Temple Institute, told Arutz Sheva Sunday: "The irony is that this video, aimed at the Jewish world, has succeeded in moving many people towards a deeper feeling about this period of mourning, and the Temple. This whole thing that has angered the Arab world and plunged us into international intrigue, is simply a red herring..."

"The irony is that Hashem has used the international media, focusing on Morsi's imagined insult, to bring the idea of the Holy Temple to the attention of people the world over. So actually there is no coincidence even though we didn't plan for the paper to fall on any particular page...that is just what happened to be in the news that day -- but min hashaymaim [from the Heavens, ed.] the video got much more exposure, and thus the idea of the Temple got more exposure."

Arab media reaction to the Temple Mount video has boosted its popularity; it has passed 300,000 views.